This investigation studies the effects of hybrid induction/DC heating on the sintering of micron-sized nickel powders, with a focus on spatial distribution of microstructure and material properties. Sintering times were varied between 1 and 20 minutes at a temperature of 1100oC ±50oC, with a fixed starting green density of 59%. A custom enclosure was designed and manufactured to accommodate the novel simultaneous die-less induction and direct current (DC) heating setup. Materials sintered using the hybrid approach were compared to materials sintered using only DC heating. Sintered densities, average hardness, and grain size were found to be similar for both types of heating. However, the hybrid mode displayed more uniform porosity and hardness values across the compacts’ cross-sections than the DC mode. Additionally, slightly lower grain growth was observed under the hybrid mode than the DC mode. These results suggest hybrid heating enables a more uniform temperature distribution during sintering than DC heating, as evidenced by crack formation observed only in DC heated samples.
